Joe Zee Reveals the Top Celebrity Stand-Ins—and Gives Them the Hollywood Treatment

In March of last year, while trolling the Internet for breaking news and, yes, juicy celebrity dish, I stumbled upon a photo of Jennifer Lopez in combat clothing, her hair sideswept and braided. Next to her was a man rocking an identical zip-up and hairdo. The headline exploded off my screen: J.Lo’s Body Double is a Dude! And my mind was blown.

Of course Hollywood’s leading ladies use body doubles to hold their marks when the cameras aren’t rolling, but I was completely dumbstruck by the idea that their subs needn’t be the same race or even sex as the celebrity they represent. Curiosity piqued, I began a quest to uncover the identities of my favorite actresses’ off-camera fill-ins. But, as it turned out, they weren’t so easy to find.

For those who aren’t fluent in the language of Hollywood doppelgängers, a stand-in is responsible for, well, standing in as a placeholder for the film’s star during on-set lighting tests and scene blocking (which take place before the actresses are even summoned from their trailers); some workdays can last more than 15 hours. Stars are typically assigned a new stand-in for every project; many film productions cast locals in these positions via open calls. (For certain megastars, though, there are exceptions: Al Pacino has traveled exclusively with the same double for 30 years.) And because many stand-ins use the job as a sideline while pursuing their own acting careers, they downplay the role of silver-screen shadow. So let’s just say there aren’t swarms of card-waving stand-ins covering L.A.